Since Dec. 1, temperatures in Iowa have averaged warmer than I was expecting and also warmer than the average trends in the past years I used for comparison.

Sea surface temperature dep­art­­ures from normal in the Nino 3.4 region of the Tropical Pacific have been in the positive range since fall 2019. Values were mostly in the positive neutral range but at times in the weak El Nino range. 

Mostly neutral conditions are expected into the middle part of 2020.

Some of the years I continue to look at for comparison to the recent...